1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mechanical clamps. More particularly, the present invention relates to a clamp for a sanitary tri-clover fitting, with the clamp having a cammed closure lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sanitary couplings are used in applications such as the food processing, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, where fluid lines and couplings must be configured so as to prevent fluid entrapment and minimize opportunities for bacteria to lodge and multiply. This requirement limits the materials, surface finishes, and physical configurations that can be used. Typically, sanitary tubes and fittings are made from rigid metals such as brass and stainless steel, and are polished to a highly smooth finish. Coupling gaskets can be made from metal, or from a polymers such as Nylon, Teflon, or silicone.
Common sanitary fluid couplers rely on manual clamps to secure components together, commonly referred to as a Tri-Clamp or tri-clover fitting. Conventional Tri-Clamps have an upper and a lower ring section connected on a hinged joint so that the clamp assembly can open and close. Two sections of tubing, which are to be joined, need to be held together along with an intervening gasket while the clamp is closed over them such that the flanged ends of the tubing are received within slotted groves on the inner diameter of the clamp rings. The clamp is then secured by turning a tightening wingnut-type bolt through many revolutions until the necessary clamping pressure is achieved.
There are a number of drawbacks to a conventional tri-clamp device. First, the clamp tends to easily fall into a wide “open” position, making it awkward and time consuming to close the clamp around the tubing sections using just one hand while holding the tubing section together with the other hand Second, after closing the clamp around the tubing sections, the clamp has to be firmly held in the “closed” position with one hand while the tightening bolt is maneuvered into position with the other hand and then rotated through many turns to secure the clamp. This process can be time consuming, inefficient, non-ergonomic, and error prone. In typical industrial and commercial settings there can be very large numbers of tubing sections that need to be connected, disconnected and re-arranged on a frequent basis necessitating the use of a large number of Tri-Clamps, and thus, a significant amount of manual labor.